Kaitlyn took her first train ride today. (The Pineapple Express at the Dole Plantation doesn’t count) I’d explained to her that it was kind of like a plane, but easier to get up and walk around. She asked if you sit and someone brings you food and a drink. No, no, you have to go get it. She liked that. I think she just liked not having to sit still for the entire three hour trip. And three hours on the TGV beat 6 hours in a car, hands down. She had no interest in even trying to take a nap on the train. Dad snoozed off and on. And the guy next to him slept the entire time… he even spread out and took over Dad’s seat during one of Dad’s coffee trips.
The first thing we did when we arrived in Paris was get ripped off. Probably. At the line of taxi’s outside the train station, we walked up to the one guy with a van. (Five people, four suitcases plus a few carry-ons was way too much for an ordinary taxi) It cost 60 Euros to go from Gare Lyon (the station) to our hotel. About a 25 minute ride. We’ll find out when we ride back to the station Sunday night with the three of us, one suitcase and Kaitlyn’s Nemo backpack how much a real taxi ride is.
The ride itself was probably along a more tourist route than needed. But it did give Kaitlyn a peek at the Eiffel Tower. She’s been talking for weeks about seeing it and every time she says a picture of it says that’s where we live! She was thrilled to see it.
The first thing she said when we went into our hotel room (which was very nice… included a long hallway with a big closet and big bathroom as well as a decent sized bedroom) was where is my bed? I didn’t bother to explain to her that the room cost enough without the extra 30 Euros a night for an extra bed (which would have turned a decent sized room into a tight squeeze). She comes into our room asking to get into our bed just about every morning around 5am, so we figured sleeping there the whole night would be a treat. And cheaper.
Tonight was the big night out: dinner at the Jules Verne inside the Eiffel Tower. I’d read in a guidebook to expect to spend about $300 a PERSON. That was all the review said. It was enough for me to expect a potentially unpleasant experience with a four year old who refused to nap on the train. Bill and I were so frustrated by her we agreed that if it had just been us, we’d have canceled the reservation. But, it wasn’t just us, so we went… and crossed our fingers.
On our way there, Kaitlyn spotted a carousel she just had to ride. I thought the one here in Uriage is fast. (it is) This one is a double decker. And Kaitlyn, of course, had to ride on the second level. She was thrilled to be way up high on a horse going up and down and round and round. I made Bill go with her. While they were whirling around, it started to rain. Luckily, it didn’t pour.
Our reservation was for 7:15… the earliest seating. (Thanks to the carousel, we were the proper French 5 minutes late) We were seated at a big round table in the middle of the room, not right up against the windows. We gave Kaitlyn the best seat to see out, and it also had a view up to the elevators going to the highest level of the tower. That was kind of neat. The seats also adjust up and down like office chairs (not normally a plus at a fancy restaurant) so she could sit real high up, and see better. I also noticed and appreciated no eye-rolling from the staff when she came in.
I’ve never had this happen to me before; I was given a menu without prices. I thought maybe it was a fixed-price menu and I just had to choose from each column, so to speak. So I said something about my lack of pricing information and glanced at Dad’s menu… he had prices. Ok, so it isn’t a fixed price. Whatever, if you aren’t going to tell me what the stuff costs I’m not going to worry about it. So I ordered the lobster. Bill told me later he almost ordered that, but his menu did have prices and he just couldn’t bring himself to order an 80 Euro main dish.
I admit, I sneaked a peek at the numbers in front of Dad when he was signing the bill. I don’t want to be rude and say what it was. But it was staggering. It was nearly as much as our hotel for the entire long weekend, minus the over priced breakfast buffet).
Kaitlyn behaved herself as well as a tired, excited 4 year old could at a fancy restaurant. One of the waiters suggested a little champagne for her. (Maybe if I hadn’t seen that it was 18 Euros a glass!) He said you are in France now! I told him we live here and he came back with a comment about how we should be familiar with some Alpine liqueur that you let your child lick off your finger. Instead of either a lick of liquor or a sip of champagne, Kaitlyn got a glass of milk. That’s nearly impossible to find here at a restaurant. You can’t even get it with a Happy Meal.